Intern Farewell – Samantha Gonzales

Coming into my first day at PeopleFund, my feelings could be described in one word: excitement. I had been around the office before, I had met most of the staff (and thought I remembered their names), and had been shown where I would be spending the fall semester as a development and communications intern. Having previously interned with another nonprofit in Austin, I felt that I had a good handle on what I would be doing on a daily basis in the East Austin office. Fortunately, I was wrong and I quickly learned that PeopleFund was a nonprofit like no other.

When thinking of the PeopleFund staff, one word immediately comes to mind: friendly. The printer was explained many times to me and I always felt at home when it came to asking a wide range of questions. The staff graciously took time out of their busy schedules to help me get my bearings in the PeopleFund Austin office. When it comes to projects, I was immediately given items ranging from reaching out to potential donors to writing client features about many of the interesting clients that PeopleFund serves. Learning about PeopleFund’s history and the wide range of its support for small businesses in Texas allowed me to see their amazing mission in action.

This mission to help others is what attracted me to the nonprofit world and to PeopleFund. Little did I know I would witness a team come together to help others in their own community. Seeing this process has only further cemented my long-term goal of helping others in my future career

Many, many thanks to Amber, Erica and the rest of the PeopleFund staff for giving me praise, help, and humor throughout my time at PeopleFund.